House Leadership Avoids Impeachment Vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Ahead of Election
U.S. House leadership has decided to recess a day early, avoiding an impeachment vote against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after the November midterm elections. The move comes in response to Rep. Thomas Massie's surprise introduction of articles of impeachment targeting Hegseth for his role in unauthorized military actions during the war with Iran. Republican leaders did not publicly reference the impeachment effort when announcing the schedule change, but lawmakers like Massie claimed it was politically motivated. The House has already been operating on a reduced schedule this month due to Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to cancel two weeks of sessions for late September. The chamber is now set to return after November 3rd as members campaign ahead of midterms. While the impeachment resolution, which argues Hegseth violated laws by keeping troops deployed without congressional approval, was unlikely to pass, it has added pressure on GOP leadership and highlighted growing internal tensions over the Iran war. Massie also expressed concern that the early recess would hinder efforts to gather enough support for a discharge petition related to Jeffrey Epstein files. Pentagon officials defended Hegseth's performance under President Trump’s administration.
